Generally, hockey sticks are comprised of a blade portion and a shaft or handle portion. Traditionally, these portions were permanently joined to one another. In more recent times, the blade and shaft have been constructed in a manner that facilitates the user's replacement of the blade (i.e. the blades can be removably detached from the shaft and another blade can be attached and the removed blade can be attached to another shaft). The blades and shafts have been constructed, in whole or in part, using a wide variety of materials, including wood, aluminum, plastic and composite materials such as carbon, graphite, aramid, polyethylene, polyester and glass fibers.
The blade portion is typically comprised of front and back faces, a hosel portion that extends longitudinally toward the shaft from the heel of the blade and a lower portion that extends generally perpendicular relative to the hosel portion away from the heel. In conventional construction, the hosel portion of the blade employs a continuously uniform or a continuously gradually tapering cross-sectional geometry relative to and along its longitudinal axis moving from the upper portion of the hosel near the shaft toward the heel. Consequently, a uniform or gradually tapering longitudinal bending stiffness in the hosel results.
The longitudinal bending stiffness of a member or a section of a member is the stiffness along a given longitudinal axis of the member relative to a defined direction. For example as illustrated in FIG. 9A, a member having a rectangular cross-sectional area has a longitudinal axis defined as Z′, a width defined as X, a height defined as Y and a length defined as L, where the width X is greater than the height Y. As illustrated in FIG. 9B, the longitudinal bending stiffness of the member illustrated in FIG. 9A in the direction X′ (which as illustrated is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis) may be measured by applying a force F to the member in the direction of X′ (i.e. normal to the Z′-Y′ plane) and measuring the bending of the member in that direction at a defined position. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, the longitudinal bending stiffness in the Y′ direction is measured by applying a force F to the member in the Y′ direction (i.e. normal to the Z′-X′ plane) and measuring the bending of the member in that direction at a defined position of the member.
The longitudinal bending stiffness in the X′ and Y′ directions may or may not be the same at a given section or region since the bending stiffness relates to the member's construction which is a function of the member's design, dimensions, geometry, and the properties of the materials employed. Thus, the longitudinal bending stiffness of a given member at a given position may vary depending on the direction in which the longitudinal bending stiffness is measured, and the stiffness at different positions may vary depending on the construction of the member at that position. As illustrated in FIGS. 9B and 9C the bending stiffness in the X′ direction is greater than the bending stiffness in the Y′ direction for the given force F (i.e. the member bends less in the X′ direction than in the Y′ direction of a given section when the same force F is applied). The assumption upon which the diagrams in FIGS. 9B and 9C are based is that all other relevant construction factors effecting the bending stiffness in the X′ and Y′ directions are equal except for the width X being greater than the height Y. Accordingly, a greater longitudinal bending stiffness should result in the X′ direction. It should be recognized, however, that the construction of the member can be modified in other respects so as to create a greater relative bending stiffness in the Y′ direction despite the width X being greater than the height Y.
The “feel” of a hockey stick is a result of a myriad of factors including the type of materials employed in construction, the structure of the components, the dimensions of the components, the rigidity or bending stiffness of the shaft and blade, the weight and balance of the shaft and blade, the rigidity and strength of the joint(s) connecting the shaft to the blade, the curvature of the blade, etc. Experienced players and the public are often inclined to use hockey sticks that have a “feel” that is comfortable yet provides the desired performance. Moreover, the subjective nature inherent in this decision often results in one hockey player preferring a certain “feel” of a particular hockey stick while another hockey player preferring the “feel” of another hockey stick.
In order to modify the “feel” and/or performance of the hockey stick, the hosel portion of the blade can be uniquely modified in geometry and/or bending stiffness as described in more detail below.